Improved railroad-car-window fixtures



" UNITED STATES JOHN D. HALL, OF PHILADELPHIA,

PATENT OFFICE.

PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO HIM- SELF AND OSBORN CONRAD, OF SAME PLACE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 44,770, dated October 18, 1864.

To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN D. HALL, of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and improved tixtures for holding and facilitating the movement of railroad-car and other window sashes and blinds; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of the construction and operation ot' the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part ot' this specification, in Which- I Figure l is a perspective View of my invention as applied to a window. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section oi' thesame, taken through the lower rail of the sash and the stiles of the window-frame. Fig. 3 is a face or outside view of a pulley or roller and its elastic support or attachment.

Corresponding parts in the different figures are indicated by the same letter.

This invention consists in connecting, by means of a metallic rod and thumb-piece, a suitable ratchet or catch, the object ot' which is to support the sash at any desired height, with a finger-piece or handle, similar to the ordinary one usually attached to the middle part of the lower rail, in such a manner that when the said thumb and linger pieces are grasped by the person desiring to move the sash in the ordinary or natural manner, the said ratchet instantly releases its hold upon the catch or window-frame, thus ren dering the sash free to move either upward or downward.

It consists, further, in manufacturing the said catch out of sheet metal, the inclined planes thereof being raised up, and the whole being pressed into the proper shape by means of a suitable die and stamp.

It consists, further, in the formation of an gular grooves in each of the jambs or guides of the window-frame, and of beveling the outer edges of the stiles of the sash to tit the said grooves and of so providing the said edges with pulleys or rollers and springs that the sash is thereby held firmly, and thus prevented from shaking or rattling, and is at the same time easily raised or lowered.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and apply my invention to use, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation with reference to the drawings.

I construct my window sashes and frames in a ly of the known foims, with the exception that I form in the jambs or srles of the latter, throughout the whole distance through which the sash is intended to be moved, angular grooves, similar or equivalent to those shown in section at I and G, Fig. 2, the sash being so beveled as to tt said grooves loosely.

'lhe finger-piece or handle C, intended to serve the double purpose of a support for one end of the rod A and of a handle by which to lit't the sash, I construct of brass or any other suitable metal, and ot' any suitable and desirable form, and attach it to the middle part of the bottom rail of the sash by means of two suitable screws. The piece D, also screwed fast to the lower part ot' the sash, supports the other end of the rod A as a journal-box, and contains the spiral spring shown in section at H, Fig. 2, a suitable cavity for the reception of the said spring being formed in the said piece in the process of molding and casting.

The rod or rock-shaft A, I make ot' brass wire or any other suitable material, and it it loosely into any suitable bearings or supports, O and D, and` to the said rod, shaft, or other connection l rigidly attach any suitable piece, B, and Aany suitable ratchet, hook, or catch, E, in such relative positions and in such a manner that when'a person grasps the piece, pieces, or projections B and O, as one desiring to raise or lower the sash would naturally do, the ratchet or catch E is withdrawn from contact with the ratch F, thus rendering the sash free to move either upward or downward, as may be desired. The pieces A, B, and E may be cast in one.

In making and attaching the spiral spring H, Iinsert one end ot' a piece of suitable springwire into a suitable hole, O, through the rod A, and then wind the same several times around the said rod, and, having cut the wire ot' the proper length, I attach or hook the other end to the piece D, the spring being coiled or wound in the proper direction and drawn to the proper tension to hold the hook or ratchet E (when applied to a window)in contactwith the ratch F. I do not,however, confine myself to this particular mode of constructing the said spring or to this particular kind of a spring, but would adopt any method of construction which experience may suggest or any kind ot' a spring which would answer the purpose described. Another method of applying a spring for this purpose would be to place it between the thumb and finger pieces B and C in such a manner that it would tend to spread the said pieces apart.

The rat-ch or notched piece F (shown in section in Fig. 2) I construct of sheet-brass or any other suitable sheet metal, the inclined planes T being -formed and the whole piece being pressed into shape corresponding with ythe stop-beadfor molding which holds the sash in its place bymeans of a suitable die and stamp. This ratch may also be cast of brass or any or suitable metal. It may also be formed of wood or it may consist of suitable holes or notches cut into the ordinary stopbead or molding. It may contain any desirable number ot' notches T, and also a notch, M, under which the ratchet tits when the window is closed, thereby preventing the sash from being raised from the outside.

The operation of this part ot' my invention is as follows: When a person desires to raise or lower the sash he will naturally grasp the pieces or projections B and C, and in doing so he cannot fail to press the piece B downward,

`thus causing the spring H to yield and the ratchet E to release its hold on the ratch F, thereby leaving the sash free to move either upward or downward and, on the contrary, the instant the person relinquishes his gra-sp or hold the elasticity of the spring causes the ratchet to renew its hold, thus sustaining the sash at or near the point at which it chances to be at that instant.

The other part of my invention consists in xing in or attaching to one edge of the sash, and near either end, the two pulleys or rollers, I and J, (the former seen only in section in Fig. 2,) and ot' attaching to the opposite side of the sash the two rollers, G and K, (the former seen only in section in Fig. 2,) by means of suitable springs, L, the object of the said rollers and springs being to reduce the friction, and thus render the sash easily raised or lowered, and at the same time hold the same firmly, thereby preventing it from shaking or rattling in consequence ot' sudden motions or Inovements of the cars. The periphei y of the rollers represented in the drawings are beveled so as to tit the grooves in the frame, the object of so beveling them and of constructing said beveled groove being to prevent the sash from pressing or striking against either the inside or outside stop, thereby causing friction or rattling. Similar rollers may, however, be applied to any window-sash constructed in the ordinary manner, with the simple variation of constructing them with their peripheries parallel to their axes.

In making use of this invention, should I dispense with the rollers and springs last dcscribed I would construct the right-hand groove in the sash-frame of the ordinary form and the left-hand one of the form represented in the drawings, and would bevel or incline the inclined planes of the ratch F, in the manner shown at F, Fig. 2, the ratchet E being correspondingly beveled. This being done, the elastic force of the spring H, together with the gravity ot' the sash, will press the latter snugly into the left-hand groove and against the inside right-hand stop, and thus prevent the same from shaking or rattling.

This invention is especially applicable to railroad and street car windows, but may also be applied with advantage and convenience to house or any other Windows, in which case the rod A may be inserted in a suitable hole in the bottom rail of the sash and thus be entirely concealed from view; and in case the sashes were very heavy, I would use a long rod, running the entire length of the said rail, and having the thumb-piece B attached in the center, and a ratchet or catch on either end, and also a ratch on the stop or ]'amb of either side.

What I claim as my invention, and desire u .to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the rod A, the lingerpiece C, the thumb-piece B, the box and snpport D, the spring H, the ratchet E, and the ratch or strip F, substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

2. The angular-faced rollers Gr I J and the spring L, with roller, in combination with the angular groove, constructed and operating as and for the purpose described.

JOHN D. HALL.

Witnesses SAMUEL KENNEDY, CHAs. WELDING. 

